Nutrition Services

Medical Nutrition Therapy

Have you looked into all your options to manage your health? Including nutrition? Here at CHI St. Gabriel’s Health you have the ability to work one-on-one with our Registered Dietitian, Jenna Bautch, to reach your personal health goals. Join the others who have worked to lower their cholesterol and cut back their blood pressure medications after a few simple lifestyle modifications. Don’t settle for simply a new medication to manage your health, <<<Don’t let a new medical condition hold you back >>>>.

Speak with your care provider to schedule an appointment today. Unable to make it into the clinic, video visits are available!

Why to reject the diet mentality?

Research has shown the act of restrictive eating, in the form of the latest diet, is not sustainable and increases the risk of weight gain in children, teens, and adults. Your body views dieting as a famine versus a desire to lose weight, directing the body into survival mode. As a result, the body slows down metabolism, converts muscle into needed energy, and creates a hormonal shift that increases the feeling of hunger and preoccupies the mind with thoughts of food. Research has shown with each diet, the body adapts and learns how to survive the next possible “famine”, making it difficult to lose more weight the next time. Dieting is linked to body dissatisfaction, body preoccupation, food cravings, and reduced self-esteem. Those who participate in dieting have an increased risk of developing eating disorders, including binge eating. By restricting the body, intense food cravings build, resulting in a binge episode once broken.  Dieting causes a person to feel disconnected and unable to trust their body around food, leaving the person to believe, “I don’t know how to eat any more”.

Intuitive Eating Program

Bridging the peace between your body and food

The Intuitive Eating Program is guided by our Registered Dietitian through personal one-on-one counseling. Intuitive Eating is a learning process, working against the diet mentality, where it focuses on self-compassion rather than feeling shameful and placing the blame on yourself. Instead of letting guilt and mistrust overcome you, allowing yourself self-compassion helps you to change unproductive behaviors.  Intuitive eating is centered around 10 principles to help rebuild body attunement in yourself. You are the expert of your own body. Only you have control over your own thoughts and feelings, just as with your own hunger and the decision on whether a food is satisfying or not. Research has shown there to be an association between Intuitive Eating with an increase in overall well-being, lower risk of eating disorders, and improved biomarkers, such as blood sugars and cholesterol, while enjoy the foods you love.  With Intuitive Eating, you’ll learn to make peace with your body and food while learning to trust yourself and enjoy your ‘Forbidden Foods’ once again – guilt free.

To stress, Intuitive Eating is not meant to be used as another attempt at a diet, guaranteeing weight loss.  However, if your current weight is a result from being out of touch with your body, becoming an Intuitive Eater may help guide your body back to its natural weight.